"The maritime police were involved and effectively tried to push them off the island, making it very clear that they weren't going to be welcomed in East Timor territory and were not going to be assisted," he said.

Mr Rintoul says the asylum seekers are continuing to face risks with their attempts at seeking asylum in Australia.

"Now, they're at Wetar Island, it's about 40 kilometres from the island in East Timor territory that they first landed on," he said.

"They haven't got very far which does indicate problems with the boat.